Nassif, conservative leaders participate in lobbying blitz for immigration reform
Nassif, conservative leaders participate in lobbying blitz for immigration reform
WASHINGTON -- Western Growers Association's top executive joined a handful of leaders Oct. 29, here, in a panel discussion on immigration reform as part of an all-out push to gather enforcement, faith-based and business leaders to call on the U.S. House to pass reform this year.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce organized more than 600 conservative leaders from nearly 40 states to visit more than 100 Capitol Hill offices, all part of "Americans for Reform: Immigration Reform for our Economy, Faith and Security."
During the one-hour morning panel, Tom Nassif, president and chief executive officer of the Irvine, CA-based WGA, said agricultural businesses support border security, E-Verify and other ways to sharpen enforcement of immigration laws. But before implementing E-Verify and those kinds of programs, there must be a way to ensure there is a way to get an adequate and legal workforce, he has told lawmakers in past visits to Capitol Hill.
"Sometimes that takes the edge off because they think we don't want the enforcement, or we don't want E-Verify or border enforcement is not important to us," he said. "Of course it is."
Nassif explained that his industry is facing "a frightening trend" of seeing an increasing amount of food being produced in other countries. The chairman of his association, an avocado producer, said he used to produce 80 percent of his avocados here and 20 percent abroad, but now its switched and only 20 percent is produced here, Nassif said.
"The border will be secure if the people passing the borders illegally will have a legal pathway," he said at the U.S Chamber of Commerce headquarters.
Lawmakers can't just understand border enforcement or E-verify, they must understand all industries and how the immigration issue affects them, Nassif warned.
The unique combination of voices and the sheer number of supporters counteract those who say immigration reform is dead, Ken Barbic, senior director of federal affairs at WGA, told The Produce News.
Nassif met with several House Republican leaders after the panel discussion.
The meetings also can pressure rank-and-file Republican members to demand action from the House Republican leadership, Barbic said, adding, "It was a huge group of folks" compared to other fly-ins.
